Michael L. Armitage
Partner
Mike Armitage is a partner in the firm's West Coast practice — Waters, Kraus & Paul — as well as the managing attorney for the Los Angeles office. Admitted to practice in both California and Louisiana, Mike began his career practicing maritime transportation and commercial law, but has focused on personal injury and product liability cases since joining the firm in 2000. Mike oversees the firm's litigation practice in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and his work on asbestos-related cancer cases has resulted in some of the firm's most notable verdicts. He serves as a liaison counsel on Bench-Bar Committees for both asbestos and complex litigation issues before the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and he is invited several times each year to serve as a co-chair or speaker at national seminars and conferences on asbestos and mass tort litigation. Mike earned his bachelor's degree from Tulane University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He went on to graduate cum laude from Tulane Law School as well, where he was selected to the Order of The Coif, served as a member of the Moot Court Board, and participated as a senior fellow in the university’s legal research and writing program. Born in Surrey, England, Mike is a member of the American Association for Justice, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles Board of Governors, Consumer Attorneys of California, and he is also a proctor member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. Mike is also active in the local community and serves on the Board of Trustees of Vistamar School. Mike has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® from 2006 to 2010 (Copyright 2009 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) that appeared in Los Angeles magazine. He has also been recognized on the Thomson Reuters Southern California Super Lawyers® list in the Los Angeles Times 2006 to 2013.
Areas of Practice
Pro Bono & Community Service
- Board of Trustees, Vistamar School, 2012-present
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana, 1987
- California, 1991
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1993
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1988
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1992
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 1987
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 1987
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 1987
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1991
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1991
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1991
Education
- Tulane University, J.D., cum laude, 1987
- Tulane University, B.A., magna cum laude, with Honors in Political Science, 1984
Professional Associations & Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- Consumer Attorneys of California
- Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles
- Maritime Law Association of the United States
- Public Justice Foundation
Honors & Awards
- Order of the Coif
- Member, Moot Court Board, Tulane University
- Senior Fellow, Legal Research and Writing Program, Tulane University
- Selected for inclusion on the Southern California Super Lawyers list, published by Thomson Reuters, Legal, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Selected for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5, Martindale-Hubbell Featured Peer Review Rated Lawyer
Publications & Speeches
- Frequently-Invited Co-Chair and Speaker at National Asbestos Seminars and Conferences, including Co-Chair for BVR Legal's/Mealey's 2008 National Asbestos Litigation SuperConference
- "Shipowners' Liability for Longshoremen Personal Injuries: The Supreme Court Blocks the 'Importation' of Unseaworthiness," 7 U.S.F. Mar. L. J. 67 (1994)
- "Judge John Minor Wisdom and the Constitutional and Judicial Approaches to Racial Desegregation," unpublished Tulane University Honors Thesis (1984)